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Morley forms new UK Specialist and Small Cap team

Article date: 5 May 2004

Morley Fund Management ('Morley') is forming a new UK Specialistand Small Cap team, responsible for high risk/return UK equityfunds and UK small cap funds. The five-strong team will manage inexcess of £800m of funds, predominantly with outperformance targetsof +4% pa.

The team will be led by one of Morley's most experienced fundmanagers, David Lis, who manages the Morley UK Focus and Norwich UKGrowth Funds. He will work with equity analysts Ruy Alves and TobyBelsom, who are transferring across from Morley's Equity Researchteam, and existing small cap fund manager Alex Pedder.

In addition the team will be boosted by the appointment of RobinWest as fund manager. Robin joins on 10 May from Oriel Securities.Robin has nine years' experience as a fund manager at INVESCO AssetManagement (1995-2003) where he managed the INVESCO InstitutionalUK Smaller Companies Fund. He was deputy in a team which managedboth small cap and emerging UK technology funds. It is intendedthat Robin will assume responsibility for the Norwich UK SmallerCompanies Fund.

The team will focus on identifying emerging growth companieswhich it believes have the potential to eventually join the FTSE350Index. Therefore they will concentrate on stock selection within amarket capitalisation range of £20m - £300m. The team will also beresponsible for companies with a market cap of up to £500m. As aresult Morley will alter its performance benchmark for small capfunds to the FTSE All Share Small Cap Index (from the Hoare GovettSmall Cap Index).

Commenting on the formation of the team, head of team, DavidLis, said: "I'm extremely excited about the formation of this newteam at Morley. A core element of equity investment is the lifecycle of companies - smaller companies achieving exponential growthto become larger companies. Identifying these companies of thefuture can make an enormous difference to long term fundperformance."

David Lis, David joined Morley (as Norwich Union InvestmentManagement) in 1997 and runs £500m of funds including the £287mNorwich UK Growth Fund and the £21m Morley UK Focus Fund. Davidhas gained considerable fund management experience from WindsorInvestment Management a company he founded and managed; MorganGrenfell and J Rothschild Investment Management as a Fund Manager;and NatWest as an Investment Analyst.

Ruy Alves, Ruy joined CGU Brazil in 1997 as Head of Strategyand Business Development. In 2000 he became a Strategy Consultantwith Morley Fund Management and then an Equity Analyst in February2003. Before joining CGU Ruy worked for KPMG as a SupervisingSenior.

Toby Belsom, Toby joined Morley Fund Management in 2000 as anSRI analyst. He began his career in 1996 as a Consultant withNortel Environment and Ethics Unit. In the same year he alsoworked as a Consultant for the BT Environmental Issues Unit. Tobystarted as a SRI analyst with the NPI Global Care team in 1997 andin 2000, he moved to Henderson Investors' as a Company Analyst forthe SRI team.

Robin West, Robin joins Morley on 10th May from OrielSecurities. Robin has 9 years experience as a fund manager atINVESCO Asset Management (1995-2003) where he managed the INVESCOInstitutional UK Smaller Companies Fund. He was deputy in a teamwhich managed both small cap and emerging UK technology funds.Prior to INVESCO Robin was an Audit Assistant Manager with KPMGfor 6 years.

Morley Fund Management

Morley Fund Management ('Morley') is an independently managed,London based, asset management business with over £111 billion*under management (as at 31.12.03). It actively manages a diverserange of asset classes and employs in the region of 900 staffworldwide based in London, Singapore and an associate office inBoston**.

Morley is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Aviva Group andmanages both institutional and retail funds under the Morleybrand. It also acts as investment manager for a range of retailinvestment funds, marketed in the UK by Norwich Union, andinternational funds marketed under the Aviva Funds brand.

*Not including mortgage assets

**Morley Fund Management International Limited, an Avivacompany

Awards

Fund Manager of the Year - Property Week Awards 2004

Best Property Fund Manager - Pensions Management ProviderAwards 2003

Fund Manager of the Year - Pensions Week Awards 2002

Specialist Manager of the Year - UK Pensions Awards 2002

Insurance Fund Manager of the Year (awarded to Norwich Union)- Standard and Poor's 2002

Further information about Morley Fund Management can be foundat www.morleyfm.com

Contact us at Morley Fund Management, No. 1 Poultry, LondonEC2R 8EJ.

Telephone calls may be recorded for training and monitoringpurposes.

Morley Fund Management is a business name of Morley FundManagement Limited, registered in England No. 1151805. A member ofthe Norwich Union Marketing Group, members of which are authorisedand regulated in the UK by the Financial Services Authority forlife assurance, pensions and investments. Registered Office: No. 1Poultry, London EC2R 8EJ. A member of the Investment ManagementAssociation.

Morley Fund Management is also a business name of MorleyInvestment Services Limited and Morley Fund ManagementInternational Limited. All are Aviva companies.